Although officials in China have yet to confirm the latest round of testing, Chinese military bloggers claim the eerie phenomenon was caused by the hypersonic glide vehicle which they know as DF-ZF.

China’s Ministry of National Defense unveiled it was working on the plane in 2014. The aircraft having since been tested a known seven times – not including these latest images which were taken yesterday.

Plumes of light in the sky as China tests a hypersonic jet (Image: AsiaWire)

Residents in Chinese capital Beijing as well as in the northern regions of Inner Mongolia and Shaanxi province recorded videos showing the bright white plumes in the sky, which were also likened to SpaceX’s recent Falcon 9 launch after it created similar images.

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As the DF-ZF’s test launches have all been from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in North China’s Shanxi province – and because no other satellite launches were reported on the day – the sightings seem to corroborate suggestions that it was indeed the plane’s eighth flight test to date.

Residents in Beijing captured the plumes in the night sky (Image: AsiaWire)

Strange lights in the sky (Image: AsiaWire)

The otherwise secretive test appeared to catch many residents off guard. They reportedly stared at the sky in amazement, often shouting: ‘What is that? What is that thing?’ according to local news services.

The DZ-ZF is capable of speeds between Mach 5 (3,836mph/6,173kph) and Mach 10 (7,680mph/12,360kph) and is said to be scheduled for operation by 2020.

US intelligence reports quoted in Chinese state media back in 2015 had already discussed that the Chinese might be developing a hypersonic glide vehicle that could carry nuclear weapons and carry out precision strikes that would bypass even the most complex missile defence systems.